The flamboyant feather boas and infamous “palimony” suit were decades in the future. In the 1950s Liberace, dressed in white tie and black tails, was a concert pianist-cum-entertainer popularized through the young medium of television. The DVD set “Liberace: Greatest Songs” (out July 28) collects nearly six hours from his weekly broadcast.
The Milwaukee expatriate was a nimble and expressive pianist, deftly executing Khatchatourian’s “Sabre Dance” and playing Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” with a luminous touch. The idea of a TV show featuring a pianist seated at a polished black baby grand must have struck some sponsors skeptically, but Liberace was magnetic, the magic of editing presented him from a panoply of angles and he was determined to entertain with little stories, amusing anecdotes and an incredibly varied repertoire. “La Cucaracha” saddled up next to Claire de Lune. “Ave Maria”? Meet “Dixie.”
Liberace was talented. He was also charming, aglow with a Pepsident smile and, to all eyes nowadays, evidently gay. A hint of scandal trailed him in those years, yet he fastidiously denied what everyone must have suspected. An openly gay performer would not have been invited into American homes in the ‘50s, but an obviously gay entertainer was welcomed. It’s a puzzle best left to social historians.
